Grog refers to a number of alcoholic beverages. The word first referred to rum that had been diluted with water, and was introduced by British Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon into the naval squadron he commanded in the Caribbean, on August 21, 1740.Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or Old Grog.

Background

Sailors require significant quantities of fresh water on extended voyages. Since desalinating sea water was not practical, fresh water was taken aboard in casks, but quickly developed algae and became slimy. That doesn’t taste too good Stagnant water was sweetened with beer or wine to make it palatable, which involved more casks and was subject to spoilage. As longer voyages became more common, the storage of the sailors’ substantial daily ration of water plus beer or wine became a problem.

Invention and popularization

Following England’s conquest of Jamaica in 1655, a half-pint of rum gradually replaced beer and brandy as the drink of choice. Given to the sailor this way caused additional problems, as some sailors saved the rum rations for several days to drink all at once. This would make them drunk as shit for a day or two, and that was a problem. To minimise this effect, the rum was mixed with water, which both diluted its effects and accelerated its spoilage, preventing hoarding of the allowance. Vernon’s 1740 order that the daily rum issue of a half pint of rum be mixed with one quart of water – a water-to-rum ratio of 4:1 – with half issued before noon and the remainder after the end of the working day, became part of the official regulations of the Royal Navy in 1756 and continued until 1970.

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